P100 million grant for grads of public high schools

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Tomas Osmeña is eyeing at giving a P10,000 worth of scholarship to each graduating student of government high schools in Cebu City to ensure that they can proceed to college.

But the planned scholarship would not come without conditions.

Osmeña said only those who will enroll in schools that are paying business taxes to the city government like the University of Cebu and Cebu Institute of Technology can avail of the scholarship. The grant would not also be given directly to the recipient to ensure that the money would be spent on tuition alone. 

An estimated 10,000 students will finish high school this school year.

“Ang akong gusto nga makatabang g’yud ang city nga maka-eskwela pagpadayon sa college ang mga tinun-an sa public high schools. Dili ko gusto nga mu-end up ra sila pagkatindera sa mga department stores,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña said he already asked education consultant Joy Augustus Young to work on the documents needed for the project. The plan also needs to pass through the City Council.

Osmeña said P100 million will be appropriated for the project, which will be taken from the city’s income from the sale of the 30.4- hectare lots at the South Road Properties purchased by SM Prime Holdings Corporation.

The appropriation for the scholarship grant would be included in the next supplemental budget to ensure its implementation by the start of classes in June.

There are fears that the Commission on Audit would not support the scholarship project just like what happened when the city distributed notebooks and other school supplies to elementary and high school students of public schools in the city in 2004.

COA has ordered the city to reimburse government of the expenses incurred during the distribution of the school supplies.

“Basta, I’ll fight for it,” Osmeña said.

UC and CIT have pending business tax obligations to the city, which was agreed to be paid through scholarship grants once the compromise agreement between the city and the schools will be finalized.

The administrators of the two proprietary schools are willing to pay their business taxes to the city, although they are objecting to the phrase “gross receipts” in the proposed compromise agreement because it would reportedly include the collection of taxes in case they will decide to sell their properties.

UC President Augusto Go said earlier he and CIT president Gregorio Escario have agreed to settle half of their tax obligations to the city by granting scholarships to students screened by the city. — Rene U. Borromeo/JMO   (FREEMAN NEWS)